Rawkin: Hip-hop scene alive and well at the Out Back Shack
Who They Are: Soundminds is Matt Powell (Fingers Slim), Matt Stewart (Lionize Prime), Dave Wilson (Megaphone), Tom Murray (Bedrock), and Ryan Hughes (Prospect). They are four MCs and a producer who all like to rap, harmonize and utilize many different musical aspects. Soundminds Variety is one of the CDs they had for sale and you can check them out online on Facebook and www.myspace.com/soundminds.
I sat down with Powell and Stewart before the show. Music and being around music all the time inspires them; they also like learning new things and integrating blues and different types of music including classic rock. What they are up to right now? Solo projects and Soundminds 3. Other genres they would like to explore as artists? Mainly blues and writing songs that are not hip-hop.
How They Did: Starting with three of the four MCs and DJ HULLEWUD spinning for them, they came out fast and furious. The OBS wasn't full but there was a crowd gathering. They burst onto the stage with a lot of gusto and enthusiasm. Their style was a little bit dirty with the heavy types of beats but without the gansta feel to it. They seem to be a lot more upbeat with some beat-boxing going on and a lot of teamwork. Some people felt what they were doing but not everyone, and sometimes their effort to evoke some noise was met by silence. They didn't let that bother them and they kept moving on, getting down on the floor with the crowd with the help of wireless mics and the people in the front row. Good performance overall!
Who They Are: SUM-O1 (pronounced “someone”) and DJ HULLEWUD. MC SUM-O1, DJ HULLEWUD and Soundminds are all part of the Top-Billin and Entertainment Umbrella (www.topbillinent.webs.net), which includes local artists in South Western Ontario. SUM-O1 got her name in high school and she had a lot of alias at the time like VIP, Innocence and others that were equally as cheesy to her, one day she was writing the word “someone” and after trying to write it a few different ways, she wrote it as SUM-O1 and it stuck. She also started thinking that she is a someone, and that everyone is someone. She thought it was cheesy but I thought that it was really a good story and a meaningful name. SUM-01 (who is in the radio broadcasting program at Fanshawe), teamed up with DJ HULLEWUD and the result is quite inspiring.
How They Did: SUM-O1 got up on the stage, and had a whole lot more girls in the audience and I have to commend her for getting up there and commanding the stage! Not easy to do when you are up there pretty much on your own. Her performance was great, speaking with the crowd and getting everyone to participate and feel what she was doing up there. We don't get very many female artists and since I've been going to these shows I haven't seen any solos until now. I liked her music as it had a lot of really great elements and all of her songs have deep meanings, double meanings or a great story to it. Her album isn't out yet but check her out on Facebook and www.myspace.com/thesumonecomeback.
Who They Are: Grand Analog is Odario G. Williams, Darcy Ataman, Damon Mitchell, Warren Bray, Ofield K. Williams, Alister (DJ Catalist) Johnson and Arun Chaturvedi. I sat down with DJ Catalist and Williams.
Williams said the name “Grand Analog” means: fuzzy with three coats of dust and reads like an old manual no longer in use. He wanted people to be intrigued by their name itself, and the mandate in the beginning was to give no leads on what the music was about and be mysterious enough for people to explore for themselves. So when asking what they were all about he couldn't really answer in any solid concrete way.
How They Did: The anticipation for Grand Analog was huge! People were on the edges of their seats, stools and even on their tippy-toes waiting for them to get on the stage already! When the guys came on stage they started playing some long notes as Williams came out and then went back into the green room and shocked people by bringing people beer! People didn't know what to do! The presence Williams has onstage is enthralling and inspiring. Everything from his mannerisms to the way he uses spoken word, and pauses in the music to bring it all together is nothing short of spectacular! My favourite of the night was the song I Play My Kazoo; not only for all the great lyrics and the whole concept of the song but also because he played the kazoo and used crazy mic effects that made me jealous! Grand Analog's CD out right now is Metropolis is Burning and is a MUST buy CD in my opinion! Check them out on Facebook, Twitter and www.myspace.com/grandanalog.
